This is the city: Los Angeles, California. I work here. I'm an ex-mayor. Los Angeles is a magnet for people from all over the world. Some of them run for public office. Inevitably some of them stray from the golden rule and rule for those that have the gold. That's when I go to work. My name is Yorty. I'm a dead pol.

If you live near the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisor Mark "Renovation-Thomas" Garage, Man Cave Conversion Compound and are wondering what is the content of the latest Betty Pleasant's "WMD", that is causing a political "Shock and Awe" within the African-American Community, we provide an excerpt below ........., and if you are "Renovation-Thomas" little LAUSD District 1 Candidate Buddy Alex Johnson, we recommend seeking political shelter ASAP!

Next up was an SEIU Local 99 union forum featuring the school board candidates at which Johnson did appear. But he would have fared much better had he not shown up here. The members told me they went to the forum knowing nothing about Johnson and left knowing nothing about Johnson because all he did was brag about his having Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas’ and his son, Assemblyman Sebastian Ridley-Thomas’ endorsements. The union members reported Johnson as saying: “Relationships count” and espousing the belief that because the county supervisor and his assemblyman son are his biggest endorsers, he should be elected(!). Some members told me Johnson evoked the names of MRT and SRT 15 times! But Hudley-Hayes said she recalled hearing him only touting his relationship with MRT only five times. Local 99 ended up endorsing no one, stating that there are too many qualified candidates from which to choose and it would endorse at the runoff stage.Johnson’s “relationship qualification” came in really handy when he was a no-show at the LA County Democratic Party meeting and Supervisor Ridley-Thomas spoke for him! But wait, that wasn’t the first time a Ridley-Thomas appeared for their candidate. When the LAUSD held its forum for school board candidates the other day, it invited all seven candidates, but only Rachel Johnson and McKenna showed up. But wait: The group was shocked when Assemblyman Ridley-Thomas was allowed to answer questions for Alex Johnson, who was supposedly on his way but never arrived. So, my question is this: If Alex Johnson wins, who will really be in that 1st District school board seat? Mark Ridley-Thomas or Sebastian Ridley-Thomas?
.........., that was one damned, politically-lethal Soulvine WMD!!

** The Eastern Group Publications Denise Martinez keyboards an excellent missive on the recent LA County Sheriff Candidate Forum in Boyle Heights. We excerpt this comment from Candidate Paul Tanaka .......“The boss sets the tone,” said Tanaka, who worked alongside Baca before leaving the department. “It’s putting people in key places and holding them accountable.”
........, and judging from his past record, Tanaka (and crew) knows how to "flash that tone".